North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sees nuclear weapons as necessary to protect “our children” from U.S. attack, state media reported Sunday, a day after revealing his young daughter publicly for the first time.

The argument for nuclear weapons development offers one explanation for why Kim chose to introduce his daughter at Friday’s launch of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), suggesting he sought to underline this justification. Some experts have speculated that her reveal was connected to succession plans or new propaganda strategies.